Young woman turns to stripping to fund her £240-a-day heroin habit in harrowing photo series that follows her battle to sobriety

Photo-journalist Sara Naomi Lewkowicz began photographing Alex in 2011 after meeting her in a bar in Baltimore. The pair are now extremely close and continue to work together

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By SARAH BARNS

15th February 2017, 3:24 pm

Updated: 20th February 2017, 4:50 pm

A HEROIN addict who turned to stripping to fund her drug habit, which could total £240-a-day, has bravely documented her tough battle to sobriety with a startling photo series.

Alex was 17 when she tried heroin for the first time. The teen steadily increased her usage when her mother, an alcoholic, hanged herself.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex applies her make-up before heading out onto the floor of the strip joint where she works in Baltimore. Like many others in 'Charm City', she is a heroin addict. She supports her habit by dancing in a gentleman's club and occasionally doing sex work

She has not spoken to or seen her crack cocaine-addicted father since she was 10.

In order to fund her spiralling habit, Alex, from Baltimore, began dancing in her underwear at a strip joint.

She would also occasionally perform sex acts on customers she met at the club, finding it a quicker and easier way to make money.

“When I first saw Alex I could tell she was quite clearly an addict,” Sara told The Sun Online.

“When you live in Baltimore you get to know the look of a heroin addict; it’s a big drug trafficking area.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex pictured on the podium where she works as an exotic dancer. She has also begun occasionally doing sex work, seeing customers she meets at her club. She says the money is better and easier

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex tries not to nod off in the smoking lounge at the strip club where she works. She has been shooting heroin in the bathroom of the club

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex struggles to find a vein while in a bathroom stall at the strip club where she works. She would often get high at work and was reprimanded for her drug use

“At first I was very… intimidated isn’t the right word, nor is frightened, but I didn’t know how to react.

"A lot of people have that reaction when confronted with addiction.

“We became friends on Facebook so I messaged her.

"I thought I’m not going to learn anything from not talking to her.

"I explained what I wanted to do and she was okay with it.”

Sara was granted unprecedented access to Alex’s life.

sara naomi lewkowicz

Alex pulls a hit of heroin into a syringe. She carries a kit with her at all times, and says she never shares needles. The ritual of shooting heroin is part of the experience

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex sits in a motel room with Twon, her childhood friend, after getting high on heroin. They have rented a motel room to do drugs in for the night

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

After shooting heroin in the bathroom stall of the dressing room, Alex walks back out to get ready to go back on stage for her set. She says she can't dance nude if she's not high

She documented her as she applied make-up backstage at the club, performed on the podium in her underwear, hung out with her friends and shot up heroin in a bathroom stall.

The striking images, none of which are staged, give a harrowing account of a vulnerable young woman in the depths of addiction.

In one alarming photograph, Alex struggles to find a vein while desperately trying to inject heroin at the club where she works.

She perches on the edge of the toilet seat in a red triangle bra while grappling with the needle.

“I think she started out smoking but she moved on to injecting. She was injecting pretty heavily by that point,” said Sara, who revealed Alex would spend up to £240-a-day on heroin at the height of her addiction.

“Shooting, injecting heroin was her drug of choice.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex takes a hit of crack from a pipe. While she occasionally smokes crack and does other drugs, heroin is her drug-of-choice. She has been using heroin since she was 17

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex descends down the stairs at the strip club where she works. Sara documented her as she applied make-up backstage at the club, performed on the podium in her underwear, hung out with her friends and shot up heroin in a bathroom stall

"First when I saw it, it was quite shocking. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“But the human brain can get used to seeing a lot. At some point I was used to seeing her doing it.”

Another image sees her walk naked through the changing room in a pair of platform heels after getting high.

Two girls sit in the corner of the room completely oblivious.

Alex was paid in cash for her work but was warned by managers that if she didn’t clean up her act she would be fired.

Alex would shoot heroin several times in the course of one shift saying she couldn’t dance on stage or deal with customers if she was sober.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex leans in for a kiss from Twon as her friend Mary, who she dances with, struggles to find a vein. The three have rented the motel room in North Baltimore with the intention of spending the night doing drugs. Alex lives in a row house in a nice area of Baltimore, but her roommates have become increasingly wary of her drug use

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex sits in a correctional facility in Wheaton, Maryland. After being arrested with Twon on a burglary charge, Alex was sentenced to eighteen months in jail. Since she had no prior felonious arrests, she was offered alternative sentencing that would include time in a rehabilitation centre

Another close-up shot sees her pulling a hit of heroin into a syringe.

She carried a kit with her at all times, and says she never shares needles.

Alex and her friends Mary, a fellow dancer, and Twon, a childhood pal, would often rent hotel rooms in Baltimore to get high together.

Sara said they “were pretty cool” about being photographed and she wouldn't take pictures of “anyone who expressed discomfort at it”.

The trio are pictured in a squalid room, stains line the walls and a brown throw is positioned on the bed.

Alex leans in for a kiss from her friend Twon as her friend Mary struggles to find a vein.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex sits in a chair before leading a support meeting for addicts. She has been released for the second time as a part of a program called Maryland Drug Court, where nonviolent offenders are offered a chance to have their felony records expunged after spending consecutive years sober, employed, and attending meetings regularly

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex and Kyle goof around before bed. The two have been living together in an apartment in Silver Spring with two other roommates, both in recovery. Living in a sober household is very important to maintaining sobriety

Sara says she got used to seeing Alex and her friends do drugs.

“That was her reality at that point. Accepting that was her reality and understanding it was part of my job,” she said.

“I wouldn’t say I was desensitised because that would imply neutrality and I never felt neutral about her.

“I said whenever you are ready to get help; I have friends who would have been equipped to help her.”

Sara asked Alex what she should do if she ever OD’ed. “Just in case something went wrong I wanted to know what to do,” she said.

Alex’s life was turned upside down when she got arrested on a robbery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in a correctional facility.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex cries after running into a guard at the jail she was incarcerated in at her Drug Court graduation ceremony. She has been released twice as a part of the program, which offers nonviolent offenders a chance to have their felony records expunged

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex attempted to get clean in the summer of 2012, but she went back to using and ended up in prison again. She tried again a year later and, in July 2017, will have been clean for four years

Since she had no prior felonious arrests, she was offered alternative sentencing that would include time in a rehabilitation centre.

“Maryland is quite liberal and has drug court,” said Sara.

“Rather than throw someone who has committed a non-violent offence into the system, the programme gives you a choice: live out your term in jail or you can get out early and attend narcotics anonymous meetings daily.

“Then you live in a half-way house, check in with a probation officer, hold down a job… basically you go through these steps and if you graduate from drug court your felony is wiped.”

Alex attempted to get clean in the summer of 2012, but she went back to using and ended up in prison again.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex poses for a portrait in her bedroom. It has been three years since she last used heroin, and a year since her felony record was expunged. She now works full time, and is working toward getting her college degree

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She tried again a year later and, in July 2017, will have been clean for four years.

Sara has been following her for six years now and the pair have grown extremely close.

“If you’re shoved in a bathroom cubicle with someone doing heroin and you see their sobriety you can’t help but become close,” she said.

Inspirational shots show Alex goofing around on a bed with her friend Kyle.

The two lived in an apartment in Silver Spring with two other roommates, both in recovery.

Living in a sober household was key to maintaining sobriety.

A poignant snap sees Alex in tears after running into a guard at the jail she was incarcerated in at her Drug Court graduation ceremony.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex holds Camden, the son of one of her longtime friends, Maddie. Alex and Maddie used to use drugs together, but both have maintained sobriety for the past several years. Alex is celebrating her three year sobriety anniversary

After successfully completing the program, Alex no longer has a felony record.

Alex posed for a candid portrait in her bedroom. Her blue eyes sparkle, her skin is clear and she looks healthy.

Now 26, Alex has a full-time job, working as an administrate assistant, and is taking college courses. She plans to become a drug counsellor.

“She recently got promoted. She really has a fire under her ass to make up for lost time,” Sara said.

“She’s one of the most driven people I know because she knows how significant it is to get a second, third chance.”

She added: “I still photograph her now. I saw her in January but I didn’t bring my camera that time. We hung out and just had lunch.

Sara Naomi Lewkowicz

Alex lies on her bed and kisses her cat, named Bear. She is taking college courses and plans to become a drug counsellor

“I’m so protective of her. I don’t want her to be defined by the addiction issues. She’s a whole person.

“She struggled with issues but in terms of sheer progress, she’s made more progress than most people make in their lives as she was so far behind.”

Heroin is a huge industry in Baltimore, as it is in many post-industrial towns and cities in the United States.

It has seen a huge resurgence in popularity over the last decade, due in great measure to the availability of prescription opioids like oxycontin, which is often a gateway drug.

According to the Centres for Disease Control, in 2002, 100 people per 100,000 were addicted to heroin but that number had doubled by 2013.

Rates of addiction in the Northeastern United States have increased dramatically, only slightly outpaced by addiction rates in the Midwest, with the highest addiction increases being reported amongst 18-25-year-olds.

The rate of heroin-related overdose deaths increased 286 percent between 2002 and 2013.

Baltimore has become an infamous muse for the gritty HBO series The Wire, which exploited the grim reality of a city plagued by drugs, violence and poverty.